Overseas worker faces theft charges

A domestic helper fresh from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates was charged with theft at the Pasay City prosecutor’s office for attempting to abscond with the bag of another domestic helper who was on the same flight back to Manila.

Lilibeth Villegas, who hails from Cotabato, befriended Cherly Gomez and a man who worked as a chief engineer while on board the Emirates Airways flight that landed in Manila late Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1.

The unsuspecting Gomez told Villegas that she had in her hand-carried bag the money she earned from two years of working in Dubai to buy a piece of land in Iloilo for her family.

At the airport, Gomez, Villegas and the chief engineer claimed their luggage at the carousel.

The engineer offered Villegas a lift after going to the NAIA coupon taxi booth and paying for a ride to their destination. However, just as Villegas and the engineer were about to board a taxi, Gomez told Villegas to look after her belongings, including her hand-carried bag, while she paid for her ride at the coupon taxi booth.

When Gomez returned, the two were gone, bringing with them her hand-carried bag containing her earnings. She became hysterical, attracting the attention of Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) action officers headed by Fred Vasquez and Danny Chua.

Gomez told them her story and they contacted Vince Oreta, supervisor of the NAIA’s porterage and transport services, to trace the service driver assigned to Villegas and the engineer.

Upon learning the identity of the service driver, Oreta told the driver to return his passengers to NAIA. – Rudy Santos